Learning and Behaviorally Handicapped Students’ Perceptions of Instructional and Motivational Features of Computer Assisted Instruction

Abstract

National surveys indicate that students with learning and behavioral handicaps are some of the most frequent users of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in our nation’s schools. However, little is known about how students perceive different CAI features and how these features contribute to students’ judgments of a program’s instructional efficacy and motivational appeal. The purpose of this study was to examine learning and behaviorally handicapped students’ perceptions of three different mathematics CAI programs and to determine relationships between students’ opinions of each program and the amount of instruction and engagement it provided. Findings are generally supportive of previous research conducted with video and computer games. For the three CAI programs examined in this study. animation seemed to be a primary factor influencing students’ judgments of a program’s entertainment value and instructional efficacy. However, data also suggest that animation may detract from students’ opportunities to practice CAI content. Implications of these findings for educators, researchers, and software developers are discussed.

Keywords:

• computer assisted Instruction
• instructional design
• motivation
• special education